Select a renderer

To find out more about Maya renderers, see the following:

• Maya Software renderer
• Maya Hardware renderer
• Maya Vector renderer
• mental ray for Maya renderer

When you select a renderer, Maya’s user interface is automatically configured to use the renderer. For example, if you render the current frame, Maya uses the renderer to process the image and display it in the Render View. Or, if you press the Display Render Settings window button, the Render Settings window appears, showing the Common tab and tab that corresponds to the selected renderer.

To choose the renderer

1. Do one of the following:
   • Click Render > Render Using, then choose the renderer.
   • Select the renderer from the drop-down list in Render View (Window > Rendering Editors > Render View).
   • Select the renderer from the drop-down list in the Render Settings window.
     Note

     The mental ray renderer and the Maya Vector renderer are plug-ins that are loaded by default. If you do not see them listed in Render > Render Using, choose Window > Settings/Preferences > Plug-in Manager and make sure the Mayatomr and, or VectorRender plug-ins are loaded.

To specify the default renderer

1. Click Window > Settings/ Preferences > Preferences.
2. Select the Rendering category, then set the Preferred Renderer option.